Piston and connecting-rod construction



Dec. 3o. 1924.I

J. E. ERSKINE PISTONAND CONNEGTING Ron CONSTRUCTION gi'led Feb, 16, 1921 3 Sheds-'Sheet 1.

Dec. 30. 1924.

J. E. ERSKINE PISTON AND CONNECTING ROD CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 16, 19121` 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIII III-l A TTORNEYS Dec. 3o. 1924. l1,521,515

J. E. ERSKINE PISTON AND CONNECTING ROD CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 16, 1.921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 w//vfssfs E n y Ll 7A MESEEfrslf/NE A TTORNEYS l To all whom t my concer/n3 Patented Dec. 30, 1924.

JAMES EDISON ERSKINE, OFf JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA rIsToN AND OONNEcTrNG-Ron CONSTRUCTION.

Application led February 16, 1:7921. Serial No.`44'5,4257, l

Be it known that I, JAMES EnisoN ERSKINE, acitizen of the United States, and

a resident` of Jacksonville, inthe county 'of Duval and State of Florida have invented certain new and useful Improvements in.

Pistons and vConnecting-Rod Constructions, of which they following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvementsin internal combustion engines, 1t being more particularlyan improvement in pistons and connecting rods therefore, and it consistsv y in the constructions, combinations and mode vide a piston which rotates with a step-motion in respect to the connecting rod, each of operation herein described andclaimed.

One of the foremostobjects of the in'- vention is toprovide' an improved piston and connecting rod, each being ind-ispensableto the otherand bothcooperating toA produce an elicient lubrication of the piston as it reciprocates. i i

Another object of the invention isto protime a stroke is made, thereby avoiding wearing the piston into an oval or other distorted shape, scoring longitudinal channels in the cylinder wall,- or furthering other objectionable features, this motion of lthe piston being the result of the action of the piston. against the oil, which vformer is peculiarly shaped for this purpose.

f A further object of the inventlon 1s to provide a force-feed lubricating system for the connecting rod and piston of an engine,A

each being of a eculiar construction as is required for their mutual cooperation to effect that result.

A further object ofk Other Objects and advantages will appearV -in the following specification, reference vbeing had to the accompanying drawings,` in j which Figure 1 is an assembly view illustrating the general construction of the improved -in F iguresl and 2, both,y the pistonand convpiston* and -connecting rod,

`larly described belo'w,

the invention is to. provide a connectingfrod and pistoni emp Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, showingr the construction of the crank pin connection,V A

Figure 4 is a detailsection of the right side of thecrank pin connection, illustrating the arrangement of the shims more particu- Figure 5 is a detail section of the'oil inlet valve,

Figure 6 is a detail view of the upper part of the connecting rod,

Figure is a section on the line 7-7 of Figure 6, v

Figure 8 is a detail cross section on the line 8-8 of Figure 6,

- Figure 9is an inverted plan view; of the upper half of the piston,

Figurel is a side elevation of the oil exhaust cap which fits on. the upper hemi Figure 16 is a view showing onefof the bolts and nuts for securing the piston halves together, in detail,

`Figure 17 is adetail section -of the Vupper rib' cover, t

lFigure 18 is an inverted planview of the same cover, Y f

Figure 19 is a side elevation of the lower rib cover, t

FigureV 20 is a side elevationy of the two halves of the babbitt holder,

Figure 21 is a detail horizontal'section on the line 21-21 of Figure 1,

Figure 2,2 is a plan view of the lower piston half,

AFigures 23 and 24 are detail views of the securing bolts and nuts for the crank pin connection, t

Figure 25 is a side view of the lock shim in that connect-ion,

r`Figures 26 and 27 lare respectively ,a side elevatio-nand inverted plan view of that lock shim. :The general construction, 1s Well Shown necting rod embodying peculiar features,

rto

which, although characterizing them as individual arts, really contribute to make the one in spensable to the other infthe Tn. casting the ultimate operation. A forced lubrication is maintained through all parts of the connecting rodv andpiston likely to weai. A charge of oil is admitted by the valve 1 at each c1rcular sweep of the connecting rod 2, beingl carried up the bore 3 intothe ball 4 yfrom whence it s reads. out in .substantially all radial directions, flowing down over the lower half 5 to -lubricate the piston as it reciprocates in the cylinder.l `The oil iin-ally finds itsy Way back to the crank case/where it is again scooped upv for a repetition of the preceding circulation. f

In addition ltio-lubricating the piston, tht

oil is instrumental in producing the function of turning` the piston a short step at each stroke. or this purpose the lower half 5 has oil slots 6, cut at a slight pitch or bias. It is the resistance of the'oil in these slots, that causes the piston to make step movements in a circle, 'approximately a distance equal to thepitch of the slots, at each outward stroke. The purpose of causlthe iston to rota-te is4 to effectively distr ute t e oil, and yprevent scoring of the cylinder walls or wearing the piston uneven-A ly. `In order that the two mainV elements may ybe considered' separately, attention is first directed to the is'ton head, the lower half 5 of which has a ready been introduced. It is made in two halves; the lower half 5 having a iange 7, the upper half 8 having a i flange 9, the two `being fastened together by boltslO. Both'halves are made of semi-steelv or in fact any other suitable material, lthe upper half being ribbed at 11 and aper-` tured at 12, respectively for the purposes of strength and lightness. 1

. The central opening, defined by the flange 9 A(in Figures 9 and 2 for example) accommodates the oil exhaust cap 13, the circular l-anoe of which has radial grooves 14 underneath. lIt is through these grooves that the' oil is distributed in substantially all yradial directions, so as to flow down overv the lower half 5 as stated above. The companionl or bottom cap 15vis madel plain, the" two when Vball he 16 vof the connecting rod 2. v

A combined shim and nut lock 16 is fitted between the'ilanges of the two caps. 15 shows it to appear much like' a washer. The nuts 17 of the bolts4 10 are laxially serrated or kurled either in whole or in part on the outside so thatthe correspondingly serrated partsf18 of the spring fingers 19' may Iit in and hold the nuts-to whatever pomatter to turn the nuts, in respect tothe springlingers, with the proper wrench. v lower halfv 5 a rib` 20 is formed on the inside. The outer vedgeis Figure v chamfered or undercut. at 21 for the purpose of eliminating the otherwise sharp edge and facilitating theapproach of the piston on lbearings is' less than on the other strokes.

The action of theseslots is like this: The walls or edges 22 cut the oil onthe down stroke' but the adjacent portions23 of the piston being rounded prevent the oil from *working Jup into thel c lindei above the piston, so that ,there is ittle likelihood-of excess carbon forming. Attention is now directed tothe construction of the connectfing rod 2, which, as stated before,'has a bore 3 runnin up the" middlel and discharging on top o Vthe upper hemisphere24 of the ball head 16. The oil'runs' down from the point of discharge, to where vit is distributed at the radial grooves l14`in the Hangs of the a -131 "But some ofthe oilwill collect (and it 1s so intended) in the lower hemisphere 25, so that there is a constant supply not only for the'd radialgrooves but4 also for the lubrication of theball head infits bottom capl. -v A The crank pin bearing or connection lisl of necessity made in two parts: the upper part 26, which is a. part ofthe rod 2, and

the lower 'part-27 which is fastened infplace like a cap. Bolts 28 are employed for that. purpose.

They are secured` by v nuts 29, which are knurled or 'serrated at 30 either in whole or in part. Coming next to the ycrank -pin (not shown) are the babbitt inserts 31. v

Next tothese are the halves 32 of the babbitt holder. These aremadefjof cast aluminum, and lin being cast are formed 4with'ri-bs 33 which support the annular bridge 34, providedwith an oil groove 35, fitted to etheryproviding a socket for they vintu'rn lannular soas to 'provide-a' path up on each yside lfrom the inlet' valve Vl. .A small portl 36'(shownin Figure 5) provides cominunication between the oil scoop and the `the` groove l35, besides covering the ribsjand all outermost parts of the holder 32 with the #exception of one place at the top where the 'outlet aperture 39 occurs, and this must be sition they are turned into. VIt isa simple vof the connecting rod. The reader lcan readily follow the action.4 vAs th'efcrank pin yconnection comes around cach time, the

lll

scoop V37 gathers a littleoil which displaces the ball 1 against the tension of its spring 40, admitting it to the groove 35, up which itpasses, to the circulatin system above. In order to hold the ba bitts 31 in place and to make an altogetherirm construction, the edges of the shells 38 are set or forced into the soft substance of the babbitts as shown in Figure 3. ln order that the crank pin connection may be made just right, an arrangement of shims is provided in additionto the central lock shim 41. Figure 4 illustrates the details described below. This lock shim is made on a semi-circle but its arc a is struckon a lesser radius than the arc a of the radial or filling shim 42.

When these two are fitted together We get the result shown in Figure 21. lThe extremities of the shi-m 41- meet the radial shim 42, and the product is a crescentshaped chamber in which a certain amount of oil collects before passing u into continuation of the groove 35. 41 and 42 are relatively thick when compared with the shims 43 and '44, the latter being stamped from metal approximately .002 of an inch thick. As many of these shims as may be required are applied above and below the shims 41 and`42.

T angs 45 are stamped 'from the radial shinis 42 for the purpose of holding the thin shims beneath in place, although these tangsmight be dispensed with. The lock shim 41 has a central depending finger 46 which, like the finger 19 of the shim 16, has a toothed part 47 for the purpose of engaging the knurled rim 30 of the nut 29 so as to hold it in place. Figure 23 shows one side of the head of the bolt 28 cut awayl so as to fit flush against the adjacent part of the connection 26.

While the construction and arrangement of the improved piston and connecting rod as herein described and claimed, is that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim 1. A piston and connecting rod, having a universal joint between the two, the piston having surface slots; instrumentalities for forcing a lubricant to the joint to all parts of which it is applied, and means for radially distributing some of the lubricant to the surface of the piston for coaction with the slotsto produce circular step motions of the piston on the joint during reciprocation.

2. A piston having a surface slotted skirt, ay connecting rod having a .ball head and an oil bore provided with a valved inlet near the crank pin connection and an outlet at said ball head on which the piston is universally movable; and means incorporated oth shimsl jacent abuttable surfaces,

in the connection between the piston and ball head for radially distributing the oil forced thereto, to both lnbricate the piston and provide an element which exerts the resistance against parts of the slots to produce rotational step motion of the piston on its joint.

y3. A piston composed of a plurality of parts, caps embodied in each, one with radial grooves for the distribution of oil; a connecting rod having a ball head occupying the socket produced by the caps when fitted together and a bore, the ball head being hollow butbraced to form a'reservoir for oil discharged at the top from said bore in the connecting rod, and means for securin the piston parts and caps together aroun the ball head.

4. A piston composed of upper and lower halves each with an open space, semi-circular flanged caps fitted in the spaces the flange of rone being grooved for the distribution of oil the summit of the other being cut away;l a connecting rod extending through the cut c ap, having a ball llead occupying the socket produced by bot-li caps, the connecting rod having an oil 'bore discharging at the top for lubricating the moving parts and enteringy the radial grooves, and means for securing the piston halves and caps together.

5. A piston composed of two halves each with a circular openin semi-circular caps in the openings with anges engaging ada connecting rod with a ball head fitting the socket produced by the caps when fitted together, means for securing the parts together, and a combined shim and lock disposed between the cap flan es, with parts engaging portions lof the locking means.

6. A piston composed of two halves, each with an inserted cap producing a socket when the parts are fitted together; a connecting rod with a ball headoccupying the socket and constituting a universal joint, bolts and nuts securing the halves and caps around the ball head, and a shim between the caps with depending roughened spring fingers for engaging like parts of the nuts.

7 A piston, a crank pin connection including two covering shells, a connecting rod a ball head at the top and an oil bore extending from said ball head to a port of the upper one of two covering shells in the crank pin connection, babbitt holders inside the shells, each with ribbed bridge pieces with grooves defining an. annular oil groove; babbitt inserts heldagainst the holders by clinched parts of the shells, and a valved scoop in communication with the annular groove for introducing charges of oil.

8. A piston and connecting rod having a crank pin connection said rod havingI a universal connection to the piston and provided with an oil bore running therefrom tol lincluding radialand lockl shims, the latter with means for engaging securing means 'of *said connection parte. n g

9; Apiston and connecting rod rhaving va universaljoint uniting the two, said piston having a medial .constriction in which the universal joint is situated and having slots -cutthrou h vthe skirt ona bias downwardly from sai constriction so as` to impactan .oil 4film on the wallof a cylinder during reciprocation 4and thuscause the piston to onth'e skirt to compensate,forv thefstructural' lstrength lostby cutting said slots. g e

10. kA piston andconnecting rodvhaving a universal joint uniting the two said piston having a constriction substantially dividing qitzinto an upper head and a lowerskirt, the

(lower. skirt. having slots cut through on a v bias to in turn lcut a film of oil on a cylinder wa'll'lduring reciprocation and force vit to the inside of the piston, the upper part .'ot

the skirtfbein rounded tol prevent oil working upv the cy inderwall past the head. 11. AV iston `comprising.a,piston4l1ead, a bearin c yresponding bearing member occupying the' g v t outlets. groove where parts of the connection vJoin,

amber included inthe Yhead having roil out ets,v a connecting rodhaving a cor-` at-said bearing member; and -inguine included` in -said [bearing ',*mernber which defines a pocketto receive some of the ,oil cverjthe `edge of which pocket the oil overio'ws'upon anglingof the connecting'rod during freciprocation of 12.]A piston -kclornprising a piston' head the piston to reachfsaidhoil havinga spherical bearing chamber with oil n outlets, and `a connecting y,rod lhaving a hollow spherical head operable in saidchamber and a bore todeliver oil totliebearing 'n surfaces, said head being divided to produce upper and lower hemispheres of vwhich 'the lower forms a reservoir'over the edgeof which the oilv ySpills in the angling ofy lthe connecting rofdfto'` su ply said 01'1 outlets.

13. A' p`istonan connecting?rod,y and joint-forming means between the two-cornrotate onthe rod, and a circumferential rib prising an element in thejistofn.constitutingY Oil is adap ing surfaces;y y y l l.

14. Ay pistonjand connecting '.rod, means yin the piston' constituting the receiving element of a bearing, and means o'nthe 4 connecting rod constitutingvent'lelementsl adapted to" Vfit in thereceivin'g elementjsaidmeans including a hood-like structure andatrouglu like structure over which oil is respectively adapted t0 llow'and thefoil'fis "adapted toaccumulate.-

*f JAMES EDISONfERSKI-NE- f 

